Port Surat
Surat Spaceport is a recently established hub for transport on and off of Berkmann III. It was developed by the Trilliant Ring Corporation to enable the delivery of their goods to and from the logistics facility Catalogue Symphonic in nearby New Antioch but also serves a separate public docking area. The capabilities of Port Surat have been extended in recent years to include a public grav train station that loops out to a few of the larger parishes of Berkmann as well as a special “Sky Train” connection to the High Church's Cathedral. Trilliant Docking When the Trilliant Ring Corporation moved the responsibilities of their logistics facility in Helesco from Space Station Mercurius to the new ground facility on the world of Berkmann III it was necessary to construct a corresponding spaceport. Port Surat, as it was to be called, was designed to handle the loading and unloading of Trilliant cargo as quickly as possible. The port was constructed on a massive transit tower supporting a large umbrella of docking ports arrayed around its perimeter. The reason for this design was to enable easy docking of multiple ships and expedient organization and transport of their cargo to the Trilliant logistics center for sorting. The cargo containers are brought in from orbiting ships arriving from Trillia IX which are then offloaded from their shuttles by exosuit workers to one of several high velocity freight elevators. The elevators move the cargo to an underground tram line that connects directly to the Catalogue Symphonic (Logistics Center). Once the Catalogue has sorted the cargo, and the ship designated to deliver that cargo has arrived in orbit, it comes back through the tram line, moves up the tower, is loaded onto shuttles and then sent on to the waiting spaceship. Public Docking The purpose that brought Trilliant to Berkmann III was to make use of the labor there for their expanding logistical needs. In order to obtain that labor Trilliant was required to make a number of agreements to gain the locals' cooperation. Part of Trilliant's agreements with the people of New Antioch was for them to be given access to a part of the forthcoming port facilities. These public docks have given the people of Berkmann a connection to trade with the rest of the Empire from which it had long been isolated. Consequently, New Antioch and Port Surat have become a source of Empire manufactured goods on Berkmann III, and Trilliant Ring, as the main employer in the area, the source of credits for those goods. Grav Train Station As Trilliant's operations on Berkmann III grew so too did their need for labor. In order to increase the reach of available workers and stimulate growth in New Antioch it was decided to construct a public transportation loop: an easy, reliable method of moving large amounts of goods and people from the countryside to the city of New Antioch. To that end a heavy grav vehicle was built that could pull a train of passenger compartments and goods trailers on a regular schedule. To provide easy routing of those goods off world a large depot was built in the shadow of Port Surat. The Grav Trains run in a loop through some of the major parishes (those that would permit stations at least) and back to New Antioch. They move raw materials and people from the secluded settlements via a raised guide road. Though not needed for lift of the train, the guide road provides a smooth repulsing floor that increases efficiency of the engines, a necessity given that Berkmann is rife with canyons, gulches, gorges, and ravines. The Neon Special Important visitors to Berkmann III will invariably make their way to the Grand Cathedral of the High Church, a floating tribute to the Ten Virtues high in the skies above New Antioch. For this purpose a regular shuttle service is run between Port Surat and the Cathedral. This service is called the Neon Special after Trilliant's working name for the Cathedral project, NeonIII. One Trilliant Aviartisan took a liking to the design of the grav trains being used elsewhere on Berkmann and decided to use them as a basis for a custom shuttle. This shuttle, which came to be the primary connecting flight to the Cathedral, resembles a great flying grav train engine with blue glowing plasma thrusters in place of grav emitters. To the locals who see this huge flying shuttle it's simply called The Sky Train. Port Amenities The port possess a variety of amenities to service the needs of the workers and visitors there. At the top of the tower near the docking umbrella are various lounges and leisure centers for the pilots and crew of visiting ships. Near the base of the tower are dormitories, commissaries and worship halls for the portage corps that keep everything running. The Dust Up Lounge One of the more popular spacer bars of Port Surat, the crews of visiting ships will often drink here after the long journey to Helesco System. Dust Up is known to be one of the rowdier bars as the patrons are prone to over indulging after so much time cooped up in transit. The Dust Up is located on the rim of the docking umbrella and has wide viewing windows showing off the expanse of Berkmann III. It often provides stunning shows of the low altitude ion storms that periodically sweep through New Antioch, though the patrons are not always in a state to appreciate the sight. The Night Market While the port never truly shuts down there is a lull during the evening hours as non essential workers return to their apartments and dormitories. The Night Market sprang up from a gathering of locals trading goods from hometowns in their downtime. This has grown over the years along with the increase of workers at the port. Today the Night Market includes a variety of offworld goods as well as local. Invariably some of the items available are not acquired legally but are rather likely to have fallen off the back of a shuttle. Occasionally a cracked Trilliant cargo case will find its way to the Night Market. These can bring in a lot of credits from the right buyer. The Night Market is located near the functionary dormitories and the grav train station at the base of the tower. It's usually setup in one of the trailer prep yards but the exact location is passed on by word of mouth. Ganglamedo Bar Named wistfully for the snows on the owner's home planet of Mona (now Marquise), the Ganglamedo is a bar frequented by the offworld workers of Berkmann. Brought in from where ever Trilliant could pickup amenable functionaries, the offworld workers often find the emphatic proselytization and unsubtle hostility of the locals overwhelming. This bar has become has become a hideaway from the stresses of daily life. The Ganglamedo is tucked away in an odd corner of the port situated atop a cooling tower spur that extends from the trunk of Surat. The Red Jeni A hang out for the local workers. The Red Jeni is a tavern built inside a broken down cargo shuttle near the functionary commissaries and cook houses at the base of Surat. The Jeni is a loud and raucous place, its hold echoing with the sound of dancing, arguing and singing. Huge holovid displays spread out across the hull show clips of riding beetle races and self-built gravcar rallies. Homemade iconography of Berkmann's various religions are attached to every wall. To the people of Berkmann, working in the halls and towers of Surat can be oppressive and at odds with their life elsewhere on the planet. They often come to the Jeni to be reminded of their homes back in the outlands and get acquainted with new visitors coming in on the grav train. Port Expansion Trilliant's requirements for cargo handling on Berkmann are rapidly expanding and the port must necessarily expand along with it. To this end designs are under review for extension of the docking umbrella and supporting cargo handling services. Taking charge of the design process is a Trilliant Lead Originator along with several Assistant Originators (each capable of heading up a large project in their own right) and a dozen apprentice Originators, showing just how significant the Trilliant Ring considers this task. Category:Trilliant Ring Locations Category:Helesco Category:The High Church of Messiah-as-Emperox